Elon Musk Sees Artificial Intelligence as Biggest Risk to Society

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has warned US lawmakers about artificial intelligence tech, stating that the brakes should be put on the technology before it is too late. The whole essence of his conversation was that killer robots should definitely be stopped.

Artificial Intelligence Tech Is Dangerous to Humankind

Musk, who was speaking to state leaders on the last day of the National Governors Association’s summer meeting, stated that the machines which come with general intelligence pose a “fundamental risk to the existence of human civilization.”

“Until people see robots going down the street killing people, they don’t know how to react because it seems so ethereal,” he said about the tech sector’s furious pursuit of artificial intelligence.

The Tesla CEO acknowledged the fact that robots are exponentially more efficient than human beings when it comes to working, but they always pose the threat of starting a war with fake news and spoofing emails. And not only this, but these robots could also create fake information and manipulate it.

Musk feels that artificial intelligence is one of those cases in which one should be proactive with regulations and not reactive because, by the time people react, it will be too late. He compared artificial intelligence with traditional targets for regulations.

“AI is a fundamental risk to the existence of human civilization, in a way that car accidents, airplane crashes, faulty drugs, or bad food were not,” he said.

How to Limit AI’s Impact

Musk did receive an immediate response from the governors of different states, who wanted to know about the steps that could be taken to put a limit on such technology. To this, Musk stated that there should be a regulatory committee that will be entrusted with the task of understanding artificial intelligence tech in depth.

Further, the expert stated that there should be a set of regulations to prevent companies from using artificial intelligence to compete with others who are doing so. According to Musk, if a competitor is rushing to build artificial intelligence and other companies start following, it will ultimately “crush” everyone.

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey did not agree with Musk, stating that such regulations would upset the balance between regulation and entrepreneurship. However, Musk thinks that this is not going to create an outflow of companies from the United States.

Is Tesla Overvalued?

During his conversation, Musk also answered questions about Tesla. When asked if he was concerned about Tesla’s valuation, as its stock has surged by more than 50% this year, Musk stated that the price is trading high and the valuation is higher than deserved, but this only reflects optimism toward the company. Further, the CEO said that such expectations sometimes get out of control, but management is committed to making Tesla a success. Musk stated that he is selling shares only to pay taxes, and apart from that, he will never sell shares.